YORK — Being a collegiate wide receiver can be glamorous, particularly at a school like William and Mary, which passes in bunches when personnel permits. So Grafton High senior Jesse Santiago could soon bask in the limelight often after committing last weekend to a full scholarship with the Tribe.

For now, it's back to grunt work for the Grafton basketball team. In hoops, Santiago, a 6-foot-2 senior in his fourth year as a starter, has been counted on more to muscle for rebounds or guard the opposition star than to score.

The Clippers actually look to Santiago for points more than ever before. And he's delivered, with 15 points in a close loss to Group AAA power Great Bridge and 11 in 67-56 win over Bruton for first place in the Bay Rivers District.

Even so, Grafton's hopes of winning a Group AA Division 4 state title — a feat they missed with a one-point overtime loss to Christiansburg in the state championship game — arguably depend more on his man-to-man defense than his scoring. And because Santiago has been shutting down an area Who's Who of hoop stars for the Clippers (6-1) this season, he's making defense, dare we say it, kind of glamorous.

"I like having that role to shut down the best player," he said. "It feels good when they don't score.

"I like being physical and aggressive, boxing out and getting in their heads a little bit."

Grafton coach Jeremy Jordan said, "He's the only player in the program that's been with me from Day 1 (the 2009-10 season) and those defensive responsibilities began for him as a freshman.

"As he's gotten stronger and quicker, he's become, in my opinion, one of the best defenders in the state in (Group) AA."

One of Santiago's earliest assignments for the Clippers was guarding Steven Allen of New Kent, which reached the 2010 Division 3 state semifinals. He remembers Allen, the Bay Rivers Player of the Year that season, having a pretty big night.

These days, big scorers invariably finish with less than their average after going up against Santiago. He held his own in a preseason scrimmage against Brunswick's BJ Stith, a University of Virginia recruit, then shut down Royce Bowden after the Poquoson sharpshooter got off to a hot start against another Grafton defender.

Santiago limited Division I prospect Marcus Evans of Great Bridge to 12 points — which Jordan believes is a season low — and says that several came on fast breaks that didn't involve him. He gave up just three points to Lafayette's John Fitchett, who has averaged 19 points in his other six outings.

For all of his defensive success, Santiago refuses to give himself too much credit when he talks about the players he guards.

Stith: "That he committed to Virginia just made me want to work harder."

Evans: "He's by far the fastest player I've ever guarded. I had to take a step back just to keep him in front of me."

Fitchett: "He just had a tough game. He's a good player and he'll bounce back."

With 34 catches for 516 yards and eight touchdowns on the gridiron, Santiago stood out, and his selection to the Bay Rivers District and Region I first teams was inevitable. Santiago was the guy cornerback Trevon Batten of district co-champ Smithfield singled out as the most difficult to cover.

In hoops, Santiago gets the difficult cover assignments. His basketball numbers this season — 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds — are comparatively modest.

Still, it would not surprise Jordan for Santiago to receive postseason recognition in hoops as well, because the folks who decided those honors understand his value.

"Any coach who comes to watch us, people that really know the game, one of the first things they say is, 'I love the Santiago kid,'" Jordan said. "He's the glue that's held us together.

"I think his contributions on the basketball court have helped him in football. When you look at a lot of the great football players, a lot of them played basketball."